Insurance and legal issues In July 2011, Grandview Palace had obtained fire insurance, in addition to another existing policy, through Hartford Insurance Company but the well-known financial group dropped its coverage less than two months later[35] due to fire code violations. A replacement policy was then made through Illinois Union Insurance. Several abandoned resorts have burned in the vicinity under suspicious circumstances including the former Heiden Hotel[36] in May 2008 and the former Tamarack Lodge in April 2012 just one week prior to the Grandview Palace fire. In fact since the 1940s over 100 area hotels have been destroyed by fire.[3] So many former residents of the Grandview Palace attended the subsequent Town Board session seeking answers that the meeting had to be adjourned and relocated down the street to a community center.[37] A unanimous vote by the board condemned the entire property as the two remaining buildings were uninhabitable. Only Building F, surviving intact, and one wing of Building I were structurally safe to enter after the incident. Building B was the second unit unscathed by fire but a crumbling wall made it unsafe to enter.[37] Portions of the building were found to contain asbestos, a substance no longer used in building construction because of the dangers of cancer. The condominium board was given sixty days to demolish the structure. The Grandview Palace had two insurance policies totaling US $30 million[37] but the insurance companies Illinois Union and Great American Insurance refused to make payments[35] citing falsification of information by the Grandview Palace whose board members allegedly claimed there were no existing code violations or lack of automatic sprinklers. In November 2012 a meeting convened between the condominium board and condo owners, renters were not invited.[38] It was revealed that Grandview Condo Board president Anthony Ambrogio had been replaced by John O’Neill. Owners who had missed several of the $90 monthly maintenance fees after the blaze were not allowed to ask questions and others who had not paid any fees since the fire were banned altogether.[39] A case pitting Grandview Palace against both insurance companies went to court in December 2012.[35] A Board meeting on February 15, 2013 offered no new answers.[38] from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%27s_Hotel_%28Catskills%29
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 02:57:49 +0000
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